IMSA Race 2017 - Rolex Daytona 24

[skycafe]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

YThe Nissan is a know quantity, but Daytona, with so much time at full throttle, is new to the motor.

Full throttle runs, and the g forces that the bankings put on the engines, oil systems, etc., really do add a test to those systems, unlike anywhere else.

[MoMedic9019]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Yeah, one would have to reject a lot of rational scenarios to assume that the most likely scenario was that the BoP changes made all the difference.

To me, it doesn't really matter anyway. Whatever got them there, the Caddys are on top yet again.

The question won't really have a meaningful answer until Sunday afternoon.

i don't know who went hard for quali and who went out with their race set-ups, and no one knows who will last.

I expect the Cadillac motor to last without any problems---it's a big V8. The Gibson I assume is a lot more highly stressed. The Nissan is a know quantity, but Daytona, with so much time at full throttle, is new to the motor.

On the other hand, the Caddys could fall to a simple electrical connection in the steering wheel.

BoP could be garbage, or it could be spot-on. Just no real way to tell.

There is a slight, but distinct possibility a GTLM car could be challenging for the overall win come Sunday afternoon. I love that idea. Bulletproof reliability is boring.

[PointDSM]

Originally Posted by Nick Woodbury

IMSA has posted the broadcast of Today's Qually on Youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxdzsPEoYs0

That was a fantastic surprise at 10:00pm last night, made me stay up till midnight to watch qualifying with sound (I watched it live, but couldn't have sound...big difference). I hope they do the same with the Conti race for Sunday.

[MoMedic9019]

Originally Posted by PointDSM

That was a fantastic surprise at 10:00pm last night, made me stay up till midnight to watch qualifying with sound (I watched it live, but couldn't have sound...big difference). I hope they do the same with the Conti race for Sunday.

Conti race will be live at 11.

[kvenom]

So Mazda didn't even run in the final practice? I think they are stretching this "conserve the car approach" a bit too much.

[Danathar]

Qualifying results were nice. the Prototypes were much faster than the old P cars.

In fact, they are only a tad over 3 seconds from the course record set back in 1993 during the GTP era. (I know...the course is slightly different).

Point is, with some development I could see these cars coming close to the course record.

What could be interesting is to see how fast these cars are to the old ALMS P1 cars (not the recent ones) like the Audi R10 at places like Sebring.

[Damian Baldi]

Originally Posted by Danathar

In fact, they are only a tad over 3 seconds from the course record set back in 1993 during the GTP era. (I know...the course is slightly different).

The big difference with the group-c era, is that with a private Porsche 962 you could reach 350 km/h and now we just see 310.

[tux]

For some reason there is no stream on IMSA.TV atm but you can find the race here. http://multimedia.netstorage.imsa.co...ans/index.html

[ATLFalconsFAN]

Okay, after the last few years of losing interest in the IMSA series, I'm gathering steam and hoping I can get back to full on ALMS levels of excitement and interest.

In that spirit, when not being at the track I want to get the best viewing situation I can. I have Directv and therefore both FS1 and FS2. I can't recall if I've ever used FSGo. Would there be any benefit to watching on FSGo? Are there no commercials if watching via that method?

Besides the legal route, is there usually an international, commercial-free stream that is posted that I can take advantage of here in the States without having to bother with a VPN or any of that nonsense?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Danathar]

Originally Posted by Damian Baldi

The big difference with the group-c era, is that with a private Porsche 962 you could reach 350 km/h and now we just see 310.

OH yea, the top ends are not going to be anywhere NEAR that, but the handling (braking, aero, mechanical grip, tires) are going to be better so who knows? Within a couple of years they might near the record.

I'd like to see higher top speeds as well, but just like in IndyCar the series does not see any value in speeds that high vs risk.

[truebeliever]

Originally Posted by wdave0

It a appears that the Mazdas ran a race reliable setup rather than a best lap one recognizing the uncertainty of their newness and getting dialed in for Saturday..

I would think that it appears Speedsource are completely unable to recognize what a good one lap set up, or a race reliable set up was at the best of times!

[Dyson Mazda]

Okay, after the last few years of losing interest in the IMSA series, I'm gathering steam and hoping I can get back to full on ALMS levels of excitement and interest.

In that spirit, when not being at the track I want to get the best viewing situation I can. I have Directv and therefore both FS1 and FS2. I can't recall if I've ever used FSGo. Would there be any benefit to watching on FSGo? Are there no commercials if watching via that method?

Besides the legal route, is there usually an international, commercial-free stream that is posted that I can take advantage of here in the States without having to bother with a VPN or any of that nonsense?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

This http://multimedia.netstorage.imsa.co...ans/index.html

With one of the free VPN's that puts you in another country is your best bet. Just use an HDMI cord to plug it into your setup. No commercials and you have RLM vs the Fox guys.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by MoMedic9019

Might have dropped the sand back off at the beach...but nobody has any evidence of that.

If Cadillac were sandbagging, so were the Orecas. Both gained well over a second over their Roar times. (and don't give me any of that "theoretical lap time" junk - it's always been a load of crap. The times on the sheets are all that matters at the end of the day)

Here's the simple reality about what was going on with the Cadillacs at the Roar: Every reported inconsistency is actually very consistent - with problems generated by catastrophic understeer. The sort of thing that, guess what, even the slightest error in the setup can cause(not to mention track conditions, tire issues, or even a gurney flap mandated by the series...).

There is no evidence of sandbagging whatsoever. That does not mean there wasn't any(as I said, if Cadillac were sandbagging so were Oreca, and yet nobody's throwing those accusations towards Rebellion or Dragonspeed), but to act like it's the only possible reason for anything, particularly when we now know the Cadillacs has another BoP adjustment yesterday, is just plain foolish.

So let's get over it and move on. We had a heck of a qualifying session, there are two cars(as of Dragonspeed's return this morning) nipping at Cadillac's heels, and the race promises to be very interesting.

[Damian Baldi]

Here the overall fast lap by driver

http://results.imsa.com/Results/17_2...%20Overall.PDF

After IMSA's typo fix that made the Cadillacs more "consistent" on track, we see those cars at top of the fast laps by near a second if we put a side the Jani´s fast lap. The other magic lap was made by Brendon Hartley on the Nissan, but it's 0.7 second behind the Cadillacs. Beside those two exceptional laps, the rest is very far.

IMO the BoP was ok before the last change.

[carbsmith]

Please tell me I'm not the only one incredibly amused that the the excuse for not using the FIA spec electronics was reliability but the only manufacturer to keep their own electronics has had by far the least reliable car in all ACO related series for years running.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Damian Baldi

Here the overall fast lap by driver

http://results.imsa.com/Results/17_2...%20Overall.PDF

After IMSA's typo fix that made the Cadillacs more "consistent" on track, we see those cars at top of the fast laps by near a second if we put a side the Jani´s fast lap. The other magic lap was made by Brendon Hartley on the Nissan, but it's 0.7 second behind the Cadillacs. Beside those two exceptional laps, the rest is very far.

And a lot of those cars have had issues that make it unclear whether or not they've hit their ultimate pace.

[CyberMotor]

Originally Posted by Damian Baldi

After IMSA's typo fix that made the Cadillacs more "consistent" on track, we see those cars at top of the fast laps by near a second if we put a side the Jani´s fast lap.

IMO the BoP was ok before the last change.

I thought we were finally past creating artificial advantages for the 'D' cars.

The series now has the cars, teams and drivers for some of the most interesting racing since the 'merger'. They just need to keep their fingers out of the pot.

[Damian Baldi]

Originally Posted by FormulaFox

And a lot of those cars have had issues that make it unclear whether or not they've hit their ultimate pace.

If they didn't get their pace until now, I doubt they could get it for the race. It would be a "chase the Cadillacs" race. I hope Rebellion could win.

Best Riley's time, is 2 seconds from pole, Ligier 2.2 seconds, Mazda 3 seconds.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Damian Baldi

If they didn't get their pace until now, I doubt they could get it for the race. It would be a "chase the Cadillacs" race. I hope Rebellion could win.

Best Riley's time, is 2 seconds from pole, Ligier 2.2 seconds, Mazda 3 seconds.

It depends entirely on the root cause of each given issue - don't forget that EVERY car in the Prototype class proved capable of at least 1:39s at the Roar, but several have failed to even achieve that.

Also don't forget that race pace is likely going to be slower anyway, particularly with the big question mark of reliability hovering over everyone. Cadillac's engines are the only things we can expect to do fine throughout the 24, but that doesn't make them immune from concern. This is one of those years where time in the pits is REALLY going to matter - a lot more than it usually does.

[MoMedic9019]

Originally Posted by Dyson Mazda

This http://multimedia.netstorage.imsa.co...ans/index.html

With one of the free VPN's that puts you in another country is your best bet. Just use an HDMI cord to plug it into your setup. No commercials and you have RLM vs the Fox guys.

I pay $29/yr for TunnelBear VPN, it works flawlessly...I only watch the foreign feeds because it's commercial free, and I get RLM without needing to sync the audio/video.....I also watch a ton of BBC programming not shown in the US though, so, it makes it worthwhile to me. Too often IMSA shuts the storage URL down when they see too many logins.

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by FormulaFox

It depends entirely on the root cause of each given issue - don't forget that EVERY car in the Prototype class proved capable of at least 1:39s at the Roar, but several have failed to even achieve that.

Also don't forget that race pace is likely going to be slower anyway, particularly with the big question mark of reliability hovering over everyone. Cadillac's engines are the only things we can expect to do fine throughout the 24, but that doesn't make them immune from concern. This is one of those years where time in the pits is REALLY going to matter - a lot more than it usually does.

Perhaps from the perspective of the prototype class. I still think they could hit trouble though. The thing that could plague the Caddys is the electricals. GTLM will be flat out 24 hour sprint still thanks for the Fords. They will push hard with 4 cars the whole way. It will force the rest to match it. GTD will probably a race of keep your car on the lead lap and put your hot show "A" driver for the last 2 hours.

[TF110]

I have an opinion on the time variations, it could be a combination of the tires and/or the setup (which could spring from the tires). Like the quoted driver said, track changes and your good setup is gone.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by TF110

I have an opinion on the time variations, it could be a combination of the tires and/or the setup (which could spring from the tires). Like the quoted driver said, track changes and your good setup is gone.

Despite all the talk of sandbagging I'm pretty sure setup, learning curves, tires, etc is 90% responsible for all the speed variations, both slower and faster, with the electrical issues contributing to some of the slowdowns as well.

Evidence that the faster times might not have been due to sandbagging at the Roar is mounting, and while nothing can be concretely proven either way at this point it's becoming abundantly clear that it's a completely pointless argument to have right now as the gaps between the fastest two cars are not as big as people feared, and there's been too many problems with the slower cars to tell us with any certainty how fast they truly are.

In Prototype at least. Pretty clear there were SOME sort of shenanigans in GTLM.

[MaskedRacer]

Are there any special online streams going on for the race? I know Magnus would always stream from their pit throughout the entire event , but they are not around anymore for the Daytona 24? Anything to fill the void?

[Damian Baldi]

Despite cars performance, if for some hypothetical cause of destiny all P cars could be on the last hour on the leaders lap, I would like to risk which drivers could be at each car.

- Cadillac #5: Joao Barbosa
- Cadillac #10: Rycky Taylor
- Cadillac #31: Dane Cameron
- Oreca #13: Neel Jani
- Oreca #81: Nicolas Lapierre
- Nissan #22: Brendon Hartley
- Nissan #2: Luis Derani
- Riley/Multimac #60: Rene Rast
- Oreca #85: Mathias Beche
- Ligier #82: Jose Gutierrez
- Mazda #55: Spencer Pigot
- Mazda #70: James Hinchcliffe